Chapter 48 Goddesses and the Responsibilities of Gods

Wei Yuan was silent for a moment, then sincerely said, "Sorry, I've come to the wrong door."

Then he turned to leave.

Closing the door and slipping away, all in one smooth motion.

That was what he really wanted to do, but he couldn't do that now. He could only stand there, looking at the elegant woman in a light gray dress. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said frankly, "Jue said she was going to visit some good friends. I just didn't expect it would be the two of you."

Ehuang was the eldest daughter of Emperor Yao, more composed than the lively Nuying.

If she came, then Nuying would certainly be there as well.

The woman put down what she was holding, the surprise on her face faded, replaced by a smile.

"When Jue told us that her friend was called Yuan, I had some guesses."

"But I didn't expect it to really be you. It's still a bit of a shock to actually see you."

Wei Yuan collected his thoughts and calmly invited Ehuang to sit down. The water ghost, being perceptive, brought tea.

Wei Yuan looked at the water, somewhat concerned, and gave him a look.

*Is this water okay?*

The water ghost clearly understood Wei Yuan's meaning, holding the tray with his right hand, and giving a thumbs-up with his left, returning a reassuring look that said, *I'm on it, don't worry.*

Meaning it was normal water.

The water ghost, wearing a light brown traditional Chinese robe, moved calmly and quietly as he poured the tea.

His palm gently supported the side of the teacup, two fingers down from the rim, as he pushed it towards the two women, saying:

"Qingming Longjing, Kunshan Jade Spring."

"Please enjoy."

His movements even had a touch of ancient charm. Clearly, his previous behavior of serving cola had been criticized and corrected by the disapproving bronze jue. Then, the water ghost picked up the bronze jue, and the two small paper figures perched on the shoulder of the weapon spirit, and went into the inner room, leaving enough space for the two women to talk.

Ehuang took a sip of tea, looking around. "A nice place."

Wei Yuan didn't answer.

Ehuang withdrew her gaze, looked at Wei Yuan, and suddenly said:

"Speaking of which, after I was protected by Yu with the Xiang River, I once heard some stories from passing mountain spirits. One of them was that Jue, the youngest celestial maiden of Kunlun Mountain, was punished with a thousand years of confinement on the mountain for giving the Kunlun Undying Flower to a dying mortal."

"That mortal was you, wasn't it?"

"Otherwise, you have no reason to still be alive."

Wei Yuan paused, then said:

"...You already had some suspicions when you were in the Xiang River, right?"

Ehuang said, "I just had a vague feeling, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it."

"When I saw you come in just now, everything became clear."

"Why could a mortal live until now? Plus your name, and your relationship with Jue, I think there's at least a seventy percent chance that you were the one who used the Undying Flower back then."

Wei Yuan wrapped his hands around the cup and said, "It was me."

"Regarding this matter, I was originally very... grateful. But now, my emotions are too complex, I don't know how to express them."

"Can I ask a question?"

"What else happened after I died back then?"

Ehuang recalled, "My sister and I often slept in the Xiang River, so we didn't know much."

"However, when Jue was confined, the Queen Mother of the West once came down the mountain. The rumor was that Jue's sense of the Undying Flower was taken away by the god Kai Ming and transferred to the Queen Mother of the West. So the Queen Mother of the West came down the mountain to find your true spirit and lift Jue's punishment."

Wei Yuan said, "But I'm still here."

Ehuang said, "Yes."

"If you ask the gods of that time, you will know."

Her tone was gentle and distant, as if coming from that wild and brilliant era:

"The Queen Mother of the West descended from Kunlun's Jade Pool..."

"King Yu held his weapon and blocked Kunlun."

…………………

Blocked Kunlun.

Wei Yuan closed his eyes.

He seemed to see that most reckless and heroic figure of that era again.

Ehuang saw the man, still young in this life, close his eyes, lost in thought for a long time, before opening them and smiling.

"That is indeed something he would do, so stubborn..."

The sentence carried a trace of the melancholy of time.

All the good friends who were once willing to do anything for you have been left in the past.

Ehuang didn't say anything more about this, just thoughtfully said:

"It seems Jue still doesn't know that you are the Yuan from back then."

Wei Yuan said, "Yes..."

"Don't you plan to tell her?"

Wei Yuan was silent for a moment, then mocked himself, "There's an old saying in Shenzhou, 'The most difficult thing to bear is a beauty's deep kindness.' I'm not ready yet, and I don't know how to face Jue. If it was just the kindness of the Undying Flower, I think I would have been prepared enough. But if you add a thousand years..."

"I really don't know how to face it. It's too heavy for me and for her."

"It's not something that can be ended with a single sentence."

"This is also something I want to ask you and Nuying to help me with, please keep it a secret for a while."

He looked at Ehuang and said:

"I think the story between me and her is best told by myself."

"Oh?"

Ehuang raised her eyes to look at Wei Yuan, pondered for a moment, and nodded, "A thousand years is indeed a heavy burden for a friend."

"I can agree, consider it a thank you for returning our true spirits in the Xiang River, but Nuying's temperament might not be so easy to talk to."

"I'll call her over, and you'll have to convince her as well."

…………………

"Huh?! It's you?!"

When Ehuang called Nuying over, Nuying's eyes blazed with anger when she saw Wei Yuan.

And after hearing Wei Yuan's request, she flatly refused, saying:

"Keep it a secret for you?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"I'm going to tell Jue right now that you're the one who trapped her for a thousand years!"

Ehuang pulled Nuying back, gently soothing her, "Doing so is certainly possible, but Nuying, are you sure this is a good thing for Jue? To directly reveal the experiences of the past?"

Doubt appeared on Nuying's face.

She didn't want to hurt Jue, but she felt very aggrieved, so she glared at Wei Yuan, grinding her teeth and saying, "It's you again, you you you, back then it was your jade book that turned us into what we are now, two thousand years ago it was you, and now why are you here again?!"

"If our strength wasn't always insufficient, I would have drowned you in the Xiang River by now."

Wei Yuan breathed a slight sigh of relief, then asked in confusion, "Strength?"

"Yu made you gods, and I've already returned all your true spirits to you."

"Your strength should have improved a lot."

Seemingly stung by Wei Yuan's words, Nuying's expression was a little ugly, and she said, "Of course not, that guy Yu just put us in the Xiang River, made us some Xiang River goddesses, of course our strength is only this little bit, otherwise we wouldn't have been bullied by you two thousand years ago."

She seemed to be very concerned about this.

Ehuang also felt a little regretful.

Strength...

Wei Yuan suddenly thought of what Zhu Jiuyin said, pondered for a moment, and his gaze swept over the two goddesses, saying:

"You said that because of the Xiang River, your strength as Xiang River goddesses is not strong."

"But, do you know what a god is?"

This question was extremely profound.

Ehuang and Nuying were stunned.

Nuying hesitated, then replied:

"A god is of course, those beings who are stronger than humans, who control the wind and rain."

"Gods are worshiped and are immortal."

Wei Yuan shook his head and said, "Wrong."

After receiving guidance from Wu Zhiqi and Zhu Jiuyin, he had gained some understanding of what a god was, and said frankly:

"You've got the order wrong."

"Gods are not called gods because of their power."

"It's about covenants and order."

He paused, then said:

"Zhu Long, Zhu Jiuyin, has to support the Nine Netherworld, illuminating day and night; the Queen Mother of the West has to stabilize the divine mountain Kunlun; under Wu Zhiqi's control, the Huai River flows from Yunmeng Marsh to the sea; mountain gods have to protect the living beings in the mountains for generations to come, and water gods should naturally maintain the prosperity of the water system."

"It is because they take on the responsibilities for the living beings of the world that they are called gods by the living beings."

"Instead of criticizing the Xiang River, you should reflect on whether you have fulfilled the responsibilities and covenants of being gods."

Wei Yuan's body was still a body transformed by divine power, originally intended to directly contact his main body, but before he could finish speaking, he couldn't stabilize it, and his voice paused slightly.

Ehuang murmured, "Covenants, order..."

She was somewhat shocked in her heart, such words did not sound like they were spoken by a human.

Then she saw the tea fragrance lingering, saw Wei Yuan's body becoming illusory.

The quiet room behind the door was opened.

The Wei Yuan in front of her suddenly smiled silently, and the same voice rang out unhurriedly from behind:

"The sun and moon revolve, the years change, even if the old friends who made promises to each other have long since vanished, the covenant remains unchanged."

"Then time is eternal, this is what a god is."

The words were like a thunderbolt, and the fog in Ehuang's heart instantly cleared.

As she finished speaking, she turned her head and saw a second Wei Yuan appear, fitting perfectly with the illusory shadow, and sat down.

Ehuang looked at Wei Yuan and suddenly noticed something was wrong. She sensed from him faint traces of an extremely distant aura, as if it had existed since ancient times, supporting the distant existence of the heavens and the earth. Even if it was only a trace, it was enough to be terrifying.

Ehuang couldn't help but whisper, "Who... who exactly are you?"

Wei Yuan was stunned.

*What kind of question is that?*

He replied, "A potter, a historian, a soldier, and also a Daoist."

"And now, as you can see, just a museum curator."

………………

In the end, Ehuang and Nuying agreed to Wei Yuan's request.

Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, and the three went to Jue's place.

Nuying was still indignant, but Ehuang had a little more incomprehension, doubt, and uncertainty towards this museum curator who should have been a potter. Jue saw Wei Yuan come out of seclusion, with a smile on the corner of her mouth, her eyes shining slightly, and her tone was light, "Yuan, you're out of seclusion?"

"That's good."

"Yuan, I need your help."

And Wei Yuan, whom Ehuang viewed as somewhat mysterious, looked at the kitchen utensils.

He abruptly remembered Zhu Jiuyin's words.

A potter, a historian, and...

That cook.

He shook his head, took the apron with Winnie the Pooh holding honey, skillfully tied it on, and held the knife in his right hand, pressing it against the cutting board.

*Whatever, a cook is a cook.*

The matter of the drums, and the reconstruction of Crouching Tiger, I'll talk about it at Longhu Mountain tomorrow.

But... what did I seem to forget?

……………………

In the milk tea shop.

"Miss, we have milk tea, lemonade, taro sago, snow-melted herbal jelly, and all kinds of milkshakes and cakes. What would you like to order?"

Feng Siyu looked at the dazzling menu, her eyes bright.

Her fair fingers repeatedly pointed at the exquisitely beautiful photos.

Then she clenched her five fingers, and said in still-unfamiliar Chinese:

"I want all of these!"